“I love performing for kids, but you can’t play down to them, of course. Then it would be ‘Captain Kangaroo”

~ Rita Moreno

Kangaroos are large marsupials that are found only in Australia. They are identified by their muscular tails, strong back legs, large feet, short fur and long, pointed ears. Like all marsupials, a sub-type of mammal, females have pouches that contain mammary glands, where their young live until they are old enough to emerge.

Kangaroos are in the Macropodidae family, which also includes tree-kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas and pademelons. When people think of kangaroos, the four species that typically come to mind are in the genus Macropus: the antilopine kangaroo, the red kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo and the eastern gray kangaroo. They are sometimes referred to as the “great kangaroos” because these species are much larger than other kangaroos. 

However, there are 12 species of tree-kangaroos in the Dendrolagus  genus, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. And, bettongs, in the Potoridae family, are called rat-kangaroos.  

Size

The largest kangaroo, as well as the largest marsupial, is the red kangaroo, according to National Geographic. The length from the red kangaroo’s head to its rump is 3.25 to 5.25 feet (1 to 1.6 meters) long. Its tail adds another 35.5 to 43.5 inches (90 to 110 centimeters) to its length and its entire body weighs around 200 lbs. (90 kilograms).

The smallest kangaroo is the musky rat-kangaroos. It is only 6 to 8 inches (15.24 to 20.32 cm) long and weighs only 12 ounces (340 grams). Its ratlike tail adds another 5 to 6 inches (12.7 to 15.24 cm) to its length.

Habitat

Most kangaroos live on the continent of Australia, though each species has a different place it likes to call home. For example, the musky rat-kangaroo likes to nestle down in little nests on the floor of the rainforests in northeastern Queensland. Gray kangaroos like the forests of Australia and Tasmania, on the other hand. The  antilopine kangaroo  can be found in the monsoonal eucalyptus woodlands of extreme northern Australia. Tree-kangaroos live in the upper branches of trees in the rainforests of Queensland, as well as on the island of New Guinea. 

Habits 

Kangaroos are the only large animals that hop as a primary means of locomotion. Their springy hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms (or “forelimbs”). According to the San Diego Zoo, kangaroos can cover 15 feet (7 m) in a single hop and can hop as fast as 30 mph (48 kph). Usually, 20 mph (32 kph) is considered their cruising speed. When feeding, kangaroos use a slower, walking movement, and for that they use their muscular tail as a kind of fifth leg, pushing off the ground as they move along.

Kangaroos are social and live in groups called a mob, a herd or a troop. Kangaroos in a mob will groom each other and protect each other from danger. If a kangaroo suspects there is danger in the area, it will stomp its foot on the ground to alert others. If it comes to blows, a kangaroo will box and kick its opponent. 

Diet

Kangaroos are herbivores. They eat grasses, flowers, leaves, ferns, moss and even insects. Like cows, kangaroos regurgitate their food and re-chew it before it is ready to be totally digested. 

Offspring

Probably the best-known fact about kangaroos is that they carry their young in a pouch. A female kangaroo is pregnant for 21 to 38 days, and she can give birth to up to four offspring at one time,  though this is unusual. 

At birth, the baby, called a joey, can be as small as a grain of rice, or as big as a bee, at 0.2 to 0.9 inches (5 to 25 millimeters), according to the san Diego zoo. When the joey is born, it is guided safely into the comfy pouch, where it gestates for another 120 to 450 days. 

Inside the pouch, the joey is protected and can feed by nursing from its mother’s nipples. Joeys urinate and defecate in the mother’s pouch. The lining of the pouch absorbs some of the mess, but occasionally the mother will need to clean it out, which she does by inserting her long snout into the pouch and using her tongue to remove the contents. A young joey will remain attached to a nipple while the mother does this, but any older ones will be temporarily kicked out. 

Another interesting fact about the mother kangaroo is that she is able to suckle two joeys at different developmental stages at the same time with milk that has different nutritional content, the New York Times has reported. 

Joeys grow quickly, though, and at 14 to 20 months for females or 2 to 4 years for males, they will be fully matured.

Classification/taxonomy 

The taxonomy of kangaroos, tree-kangaroos and rat-kangaroos, according to ITIS, is:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Subkingdom: Bilateria  
• Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia  
• Phylum: Chordata
• Subphylum: Vertebrata
• Infraphylum: Gnathostomata  
• Superclass: Tetrapoda  
• Class: Mammalia
• Subclass: Theria
• Infraclass: Metatheria  
• Order: Diprotodontia
• Suborder: Macropodiformes

‘Great kangaroos’

• Family: Macropodidae
• Subfamily: Macropodinae
• Genus & species: Macropus fuliginosus (western gray kangaroo; three subspecies), Macropus giganteus (eastern gray kangaroo; two subspecies), Macropus antilopinus (antilopine kangaroo), Macropus rufus (red kangaroo)

Tree-kangaroos

• Family: Macropodidae
• Subfamily: Macropodinae
• Genus: Dendrolagus
• Species: 12, including Dendrolagus bennettianus (Bennett’s tree-kangaroo), Dendrolagus goodfellowi (Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo), Dendrolagus matschiei (Huon tree-kangaroo) and Dendrolagus spadix (Lowlands tree-kangaroo).

Rat-kangaroos

• Family: Potoridae
• Genera & species: Aepyprymnus rufescens (Rufous bettong or Rufous rat-kangaroo), Bettongia (four species of bettongs, or short-nosed rat-kangaroos), Caloprymnus campestris (desert rat-kangaroo)

Musky rat-kangaroos

• Family: Hypsiprymnodontidae
• Genus & species: Hypsiprymnodon moschatus

Kangaroo ancestors

There is a rich fossil record for kangaroo ancestors and ancient relatives; giant kangaroos plodded through the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) and the Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). And about 20 million years ago, tiny ancestors of modern kangaroos and a related group of kangaroos with fangs scurried through dense forests in northwestern Queensland, Australia, a region that is now arid outback.

In a study published in February 2016, scientists described a new kangaroo genus, Cookeroo, and two new species: Cookeroo bulwidarri, dated to about 23 million years ago, and Cookeroo hortusensis, which lived between 18 million and 20 million years ago. These ancient kangaroos’ bodies probably measured about 17 to 20 inches (42 to 52 centimeters) long. C. bulwidarri and C. hortusensis didn’t hop, navigating their forest home on all fours and sharing it with a diverse collection of animals: marsupial moles, feather-tailed possums, ancient koalas and crocodiles.

Conservation status

According to the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, 16 species of tree-kangaroos and rat-kangaroos are listed as either near threatened, threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The desert rat- kangaroo  and the Nullarbor dwarf bettong are considered extinct. Studies show that global warming could kill off the world’s smallest  kangaroo. The four species of great kangaroos are not endangered.

“Time spent in nature is never wasted “

With meditation practices on the rise, it makes sense that there is some confusion out there. Myths and misinformation are to be expected — but that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to set the record straight. Let’s go through the following myths and their conclusions.

¤Myth: You can’t meditate because you think too much.



Everyone thinks too much. But it’s often the people who say they “think too much to meditate” who could really benefit from giving the practice a try. Thinking is a natural and expected part of meditation. Some practices will give you tools for how to redirect your thoughts back to your meditation and others will simply say it’s fine that you’re off thinking. This is all a part of the experience. The practice of meditation is about tuning in — not tuning out.





Some believe that by choosing to redirect your thoughts to a single point of focus you are actually strengthening the muscle that build your brain. This can teach you to react less to stress triggers throughout the day and leave you feeling calmer than before you learned to meditate.

¤Myth: You can’t meditate because you can’t sit still.

For those who struggle with sitting still during meditation, good news! Moving around is totally fine — you can readjust your position,scratch an itch or just stretch your legs out in the middle of your practice. You do not have to be a statue. If you’re in a group class, try to do this quietly so you don’t disrupt other meditators.



For those who need more movement than this, you can try walking meditation. Traditionally, meditation can be practiced in four positions: sitting, standing, walking and lying down. So don’t get down on yourself if you don’t like sitting. Try other methods and find what feels most natural for your body.







We all are busy. If Oprah, Kobe Bryant, Arianna Huffington and Rupert Murdoch have time to meditate, you probably do too. Meditating in the morning makes your whole day go slower and many people say they actually get more done and feel more productive after meditation. Because meditation helps improve focus and lowers stress, you actually can fit more in if you take the time out to practice.



If committing to 20 a day minutes feels daunting, there are many practices that require only five or 10 minutes. The key is to start small and build up so you don’t get discouraged and skip it all together. Even a seasoned meditator knows that some days get away from you and all you can fit in is 5 minutes. This is always better than nothing.

¤Myth: You can’t meditate because you don’t know if you’re doing it right.

The only wrong or bad meditation is the one you don’t do at all. Meditation is pretty simple. You focus on one thing. Depending on the practice, that can be your breath, a mantra, a candle flame or even counting numbers. When you notice that your mind has drifted off, you simply come back to the thing your meditation is focused on.

¤Myth: You’re not supposed to have any thoughts while you meditate.

This idea is simply not true and it can also be a big hindrance to people meditating. If you think you’re doing it wrong, it’s easy to just give up and walk away. Deepak Chopra, a meditation expert and founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, puts it best: “the nature of the mind to move from one thought to another is in fact the very basis of meditation,” he says.



“We don’t eliminate the tendency of the mind to jump from one thought to another. That’s not possible anyway.” Depending on the type of meditation you learn, there are tools for gently bringing your focus back to your meditation practice. Alternatively, some types of meditation actually emphasize being present and mindful to thoughts as they arise as part of the practice.

¤Myth: Meditation has to be religious or spiritual



There is a distinct difference between meditation and religion. While many meditation practices drew it roots from Buddhism and Hinduism, today there are modern forms of meditation that have nothing to do with religion at all. Many religious groups practice meditation, and the intersection between prayer and meditation is quite interesting, but it is not necessary to believe in a god or be affiliated with a religion or spiritual group in order to reap the benefits of meditation.

¤Myth: You must sit in an uncomfortable cross-legged position in order to meditate.

You can sit in any position that is comfortable to you. Most people sit upright in a chair or on a cushion. Some people like to sit in a great big armchair or a sturdy kitchen chair. You can also sit upright in bed with pillows propped at your sides. The possibilities are endless. It is best not to lie down unless you’re doing a body scan meditation or meditation for sleep.

¤Myth: Meditation is only for stressed out people.

While meditation helps lower the presence of coristol, the stress hormone, in our bodies, there are many other benefits of the practice. Meditation helps boost our immune systems, improves concentration, decreases blood pressure, improves sleep, increases our feelings of happiness, and has even helped people with alcohol or smoking addictions. Even for those who don’t have a specific ailment in mind, meditation is wonderful for overall mental and physical health.

¤Myth: Meditation is only for adults.



Adults are not the only ones to experience the negative effects of stress. Children, too, suffer from feeling overwhelmed and meditation is one way parents are helping their kids learn to manage stress. Schools have even started to discuss whether meditation is a life-long skill that should be taught in classrooms. Schools that tried it out found that students were less stressed and performed higher on tests. The overall feeling in classrooms was more positive and teachers reported their own moods improving.

¤Myth: You have to be given a mantra to meditate.

Mantra-based meditation is only one form of meditation. Transcendental Meditation (made popular by people like Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld and Howard Stern) uses a mantra but many mindfulness-based meditation practices don’t. Think of a mantra as just one vehicle or tool people use to get into their meditation practice. There are many other tools like counting, being mindful of what you hear around you and even simply paying attention to your breath.

¤Myth: Meditation is for the rich or the elite.

Meditation is having a moment right now and we love that. But the ancient practice is not only for hip tech CEOs or a pet cause for the wealthy with time to spare. The beauty of meditation is that it’s free and you can do it anywhere, anytime. All you need is your mind.

¤Myth: Meditation takes years to learn.



While the Dalai Lama says that meditation can change your life, he has also been practicing for most of his life. Fear not. You can actually learn in minutes. We don’t deny that like any skill or exercise, the more you do it, the more you learn. But you don’t need months or years to perfect your meditation. The very notion of perfection is counter productive. Here are five different ways you can get started. Pick one (or search the web for many others) and give it a try.

A healthy mind lives in healthy body. Mind is rather the battery of the physical mechanism of human beings. It decides all the activities of man good or bad. But it requires healthy adobe. It is only them that fortune smiles at man and fills his coffers with wealth material or spiritual.

Need for healthy state – There is a saying in Ayurveda “it is through his body that man performs all his rightful duties “. He can do it only when the body remains in a perfect healthy state. Thus, for an individual is the real wealth. By this wealth one can achieve anything. This can be noticed after the pandemic also that immunity is the thing which is essential to fight a disease or a virus.

Unhealthy man is like cadaver – An unhealthy man loses all that he possesses. He faces a battery of greedy physician who may be having an eye more on his pocket than in his well being. An unhealthy man grows desperate. His mind too grows sick and he is in the jaws of paralytic attack both materially and mentally. Death alone may bring solace to him make him free from frustrations. A healthy man has a rich orchard of the fruits of hope, peace, satisfaction and prominence -the real wealth.

Man has rationale – Man is a rational animal. His superior mind. In fact, Man has been able to control nature due to his highly developed brain. It is all true but for the development of the intellect, it is necessary that the body too, should be healthy. A sound mind in a sound body is an often quoted saying. So it is apparent that for intellectual development physical exercise is essential.

At last we can understand that healthy body is the key to success . So we should consider health as our first priority and then our work. During the pandemic situation, yoga classes focused on the health conditions of the people and involved them to join for their benefit and better standard of living.

Thank you.. Stay healthy and keep reading..!!

By reading the title name you will wonder that such a common topic it is but after reading till the end you will notice that the most common topic is ignored everywhere where it should not. Discipline means orderly life, without discipline we can’t live. We need be guided by rules at certain times. Discipline is the backbone of the nation. Only those nations where people have a discipline prosper in all fields. They even rule other nations. Discipline is a valuable asset at all levels of society.

Discipline and third world countries – Indiscipline has become a trait in the Third World countries like India, Pakistan, most of the African and Latin American countries. In India the indiscipline is seen in the legislative assemblies and parliament during the session. MP’s cross their limits in the parliament sometimes which is very sadful to watch. They are law making bodies but these law making bodies are the most undisciplined bodies. The indiscipline of political leaders is reflected in the whole nation and as a result it doesn’t progress.

Discipline and European countries – Discipline is seen in most of the European countries (and in Japan and Israel). That is why these countries make progress. Discipline is born of a sense of responsibility among the people. The people in developed countries know their obligation to the nation. This results in discipline in every field and the country progresses with the people, for the people .

Need to learn discipline – Discipline has to be learnt at every walk of life. Childhood is the best period for it. The young mind learns things quickly and easily. At school, the students are taught to behave well. They are taught to respect their elders. In sports also we are taught to follow the rules of the it. So the student days are the most formative period in which the value of discipline can be learnt.

In fact, discipline is a good thing. It builds character. It develops strength and unity. It creates sense of cooperation. So discipline must be taught from the very childhood. It is a key to success in life. The higher is the sense of discipline, the better it is for the people and the country. That was all for this article.

Keep reading… Thank you!!

The word “Titanic” still gives goosebumps, that tragic event that happened back in 1912, still has a mesmerising mystery of getting sinked till now. It all was happened on April 10, 1912; the Titanic was sailing for New York from Southampton. At that time, she was one of the largest ship in the world built in a very unique & special way. So she was regarded as unsinkable and unbreakable. At that moment, the Titanic was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic. She was carrying for approx 1300 passengers and a crew of 900. Four days after setting out, a great disaster happened. At one moment a huge iceberg was spotted very close to the ship. The great ship turned sharply to avoid a collision. Suddenly there was a slight trembling sound from below. The alarm had been given. The captain went down to see what had happened. Five of the ships, sixteen watertight compartments were totally damaged by the collision. So the captain realized to his horror that the Titanic was sinking rapidly.It is simply understandable that, through more communication, increased security procedures, and enhanced structure, the horrifying tragedy of the Titanic could have been prevented from incident altogether. Titanic incident has displayed in countless books, articles, and films, and her story has entered public awareness.

Some facts of TITANIC are-

1. A specific bacteria is slowly consuming the wreckage. What remains of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean will eventually be entirely eaten away by a rust-eating bacteria. This microorganism, can adhere to steel surfaces and forms the rusticles.
2. Some 100,000 people attended the ship’s launch the first time the immense White Star liner made its way into the water was in May 1911. It’s estimated that 100,000 people, or roughly one-third of the population in Belfast watched the just-over-a-minute-long launch.
3. The ship was just under 900 feet long. The Titanic measured 882 feet and 9 inches in length, making it the biggest vessel of its time. Today, the largest cruise ship is Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, clocking in at nearly 1,200 feet long.  
   
4. The ship burned an estimated 825 tons of coal per day. The Titanic was far from a light craft, weighing some 46,000 tons. Titanic has burned a reported 825 tons of coal per day in 159 furnaces that heated 29 boilers.  
   
5. Only 23 of the 908 crew on board were female. Of the 23 female crew members, only three did not survive the collision. Of the 885 male crew members, a tragic 693 went down with the ship. 
   
6. The temperature of the sea water was below freezing when the ship sank. A ship that was near the Titanic when it sank — water temperatures were as cold as 28 degrees Fahrenheit. The human body can survive up to 45 minutes in freezing water.
7. The Titanic was able to carry 64 lifeboats but only carried 20. Many of the lifeboats that were launched from the Titanic did not pack as many patrons as they could have held. 
   

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1. Two young brothers survived the ship without a guardian. Edmond and Michel Navratil went down in history as the only children to survive the Titanic without a parent. They were two years apart in age and were nicknamed the “Titanic Orphans.” Their father, Michel Sr., kidnapped them from their mother, whom he was no longer with, and planned to take them to America. The last anyone saw of him was when he put his children in a lifeboat.